Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/171008 
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11024
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper demonstrates that short-term peer exposure can generate achievement effects which persist for several months and years. I study a mandatory freshmen week for first-year undergraduates and exploit the random assignment of students to freshmen teams. I find that the freshmen week contributes to the formation of persistent social ties. Furthermore, peers' observable characteristics impact college achievement for up to three years. Ability peer effects are non-linear, i.e. very high or low levels of average peer ability in a group harm students' grades. These effects are most pronounced for low-ability students.
Subjects: 
peer effects
higher education
natural experiment
gender
region of origin
ability
JEL: 
I21
I23
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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